Do you know the number of posts you miss on social media platforms like Instagram? Well, it might be surprising to know that on an average we are missing about seventy percentages of all the posts. So, it’s quite alarming to these companies, who need to design a system to make sure that the users are not missing their important posts.
The web feed or news feed has quite a history on the social media platforms. Initially, we were used to getting posts in a chronological manner. This means the latest news or posts will be at the top of the feed. However, it was found that users lost many relevant, important posts during their work and sleep. As a result, social media giants like Facebook and Twitter resorted to algorithm based feed for their users. The photo sharing platform, Instagram, is the latest to join the band.
Now, for creating an efficient algorithm to give the users the best experience, the social media companies have to dig deep into the behavior, response, interests and various other factors about their user. These form the building blocks for the algorithm. Some of them are discussed.
Popularity: Popularity of a post is often considered to concoct the feed for the user. This can be seen on Twitter, which positions the feed based on the popularity of the tweets, irrelevant of the time it has been posted.
Involvement of a User in a Post: Users have been empowered with like, comment, and share options to involve with a post. For a user, the like option is a way to appreciate a post. However, for the social media company, these options are mediums to collect information about users’ interests. They can use this information to prepare a better feed for the user and get more Instagram followers.
Time Spent on a Post: The algorithm also counts the time spent on a post by the user. This gives an idea of what kind of posts a user is more involved with. Facebook is the one to start accounting this factor into its algorithm.
Prioritizing: Many social media apps allow users to prioritize the subject, content on the social media platforms. This gives more control to the user to manually design their preferences in the news feed.
Relevance Score: A relevance score is assigned to a post, considering numerous variables and factors. The variable information gives the license to predict how likely a user is going to be interested in a particular post.
Specifically, the new Instagram’s feed algorithm is said to bring the following factors into the picture.
- The number of likes and comments: Just like Facebook, Instagram is going to consider the likes and comments a post gets to know its importance for Instagram followers.
- Time: The time of post will also be considered.
- Prioritizing another user: Instagram will monitor your interaction with other users and create a feed accordingly.
Hindrance to the change
A number of users have raised their voices against these changes. Many people are reluctant to change their experience with the Instagram. Though the company has assured that changes will be made slowly, many people think that Instagram users don’t need any algorithm to decide which posts are best for them. Many believe seeing the latest post is most relevant.
At the end of the day, Instagram always tries to create the best experience for the users. They are using the technology and science to craft pleasing features for their users.
Author Bio – Melissa Brigance is a popular name in the field of social media. Her ideas have helped several businesses get more Instagram followers.